Sherae Honeycutt

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Original Post

The 20th year of Planet Comicon kicked off Friday, and thousands of people were ready to get their nerd on.

The event is being held at Bartle Hall at the Kansas City Convention Center. Dozens of people lined up and rushed in to get a head start on the fun.

“It’s kind of hard to find other people out in the open that have the same interests as you; whereas here it’s like, everyone here is coming here for sort of the same topic,” cosplayer Hannah Rames said.

“It’s just a lot of fun to be around a lot of other nerdy people, and the vendors are fun, and you also get that awesome chance to maybe meet one of your idols,” self-described nerd Valerie Metzler said.

There are tons of celebrities to chose from. Harry Winkler shook hands and took pictures with fans, and the headliner — the man himself — Captain James T. Kirk was there Friday. That’s William Shatner to you.

“We’re a big nerd family,” Aaron Harvey said. “We love anime. We like cartoons, superheroes, and we recently got the kids into Harry Potter, and they`re really loving it.”

The Harvey family came all the way from Topeka to attend the event. They said it’s an awesome experience for their kids.

“A place where people can gather and share common interests, goals, passions, items, and it’s a really awesome experience,” Harvey said.

The cosplay at Planet Comicon is always on point. People come up with intricate costumes that let them transform into their favorite characters.

“I feel really confident. I feel like I get to express myself in more ways than jeans and a t-shirt. It’s also so much fun when someone points out to you and says, ‘Oh my God, it’s GLaDOS.’ It’s really fun,” Metzler said.

Whether you like anime, superheroes, Star Wars or just love to dress up, there’s something for the whole family. See some of the fun in the video player above.

“Keep being weird,” Harvey said. “I think that’s a good thing. Keep being weird. Don’t ever tell somebody you’re weird and you can’t do something — because you can definitely come here and do it.”

Planet Comicon runs from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Saturday and 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday. Tickets are still on sale online or at the door. Prices are around $50 for adults, and vary each day.